Leading global ICT companies in Australia based or headquartered in Sydney include Fujitsu, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle-Peoplesoft, Sun Microsystems, SAP, SingTel-Optus, Hewlett Packard, CSC, BenQ, Marconi, Nokia, Panasonic, Sercel, Sophos and Samsung.
More than 120,000 people in NSW work in the ICT industry, about 35% of the national total. Of that total, 41% of people employed in ICT specialist businesses in Australia are in NSW.
In Australia NSW accounts for 42% of ICT businesses and 47% of telecommunications services.
The State represents 40% of industry value-added output in Australia, with value added production by NSW ICT companies just below A$13 billion in 2002-03. Computer services companies contributed A$5 billion. The State accounts for 59% and 57% of national industry value-added in ICT wholesale trade and computer services respectively.
NSW is the base for Australia's ICT services exports and generated 83% of the growth in Australia's ICT services exports in the past decade. In 2004-05, NSW exports of ICT services exceeded A$1.2 billion, 64% of the national total.
ICT infrastructure
Leading ICT infrastructure and service providers based in Sydney include AsiaNetCom, AAPT, CSC, EDS, Fujitsu, Global Switch, SingTel-Optus, Equant, Sprint International and Telstra-Reach.
Wireless
Australia currently has 16.5 million mobile phone users, taking the total penetration rate to 82%.
Two digital networks (GSM and CDMA) operate in Australia, both covering more than 95% of the population. Major mobile service providers, SingTel- Optus, Vodafone and Hutchison, are headquartered in Sydney.
International connectivity
The NSW telecommunications infrastructure includes four high capacity international fibre optic cable networks linking Australia to the US, Europe and Asia. Sydney is a major internet-exchange point and telecommunications hub serviced by deep-sea fibre optic cables that link high-speed metro and intra-city fibre cable networks.
International call costs are among the lowest in the region.
Internet data centres
Sydney is home to many internet data centres and telecommunications companies offering a range of services, including co-location, shared and dedicated hosting, data warehousing, disaster recovery and managed services.
World class research and development
In 2004, Australia ranked second behind Singapore (and ahead of Ireland and the UK) as a centre for ICT research and development, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
NSW leads Australia in ICT research and in 2003-04, accounted for 43% of the A$976 million businesses spent on computer and communication services R&D in Australia. It also contributed 51% of the A$270 million allocated nationally by businesses to electronic equipment R&D.
International companies with significant R&D centres in Sydney include Avaya, Canon Information Systems Research Australia (CISRA), Citect, Citrix Systems, Honeywell and Unisys.
Sydney is headquarters to five national centres of excellence in ICT-related research fields, two Major National Research Facilities, three Cooperative Research Centres and data centre company ac3.
Close to Sydney's CBD, the Australian Technology Park (ATP) hosts three supercomputers providing high performance computing for R&D and works closely with universities. The ATP is also home to National ICT Australia.
National Information and Communications Technology Australia
National ICT Australia (NICTA) [http://nicta.com.au] plays a major role in the Australian Government's policy to promote science and innovation. Its aim is to capitalise on Australia's extensive ICT talent through world-class research, commercialisation, education, and industry collaboration.
Based in Sydney, NICTA's research efforts focus on the technology challenges facing industry, community, and the national interest. The organisation employs more than 100 full time researchers in NSW and two of its four major projects are located in the State.
NSW Government support for ICT
The NSW Government provides support for:
- ongoing research and development of new technologies
- development of innovative start-up companies
- identifying export opportunities
- nurturing skills in ICT through training and education
- attracting and retaining ICT investment.